Georgia archaeologists find Confederate POW camp

There are 12 comments on the
Long Beach Press-Telegram
story from Aug 18, 2010, titled Georgia archaeologists find Confederate POW camp.
In it, Long Beach Press-Telegram reports that:

Preserved for nearly 150 years, perhaps by its own obscurity, Camp Lawton began yielding treasures from the Civil War almost as soon as archeologists began searching for the short-lived Confederate prison camp.

No aspect of the American Civil War left behind a greater legacy of bitterness and acrimony than the treatment of prisoners of war. Although the Confederacy had a number of horrid prison camps, the Union had its share of equally horrific camps. Prison camps on both sides produced scenes of wretched, disease-ridden and emaciated prisoners as repulsive as any to come out of the Second World War.

Partisans in both the North and the South produced wildly exaggerated novels, reminiscences of prisoners, journalistic accounts and even official government reports which charged the enemy with wanton criminal policies of murderous intent. It took several decades for Revisionist historians to separate fact from propagandistic fancy and deliberate distortion from misunderstanding. Even today the bitter legacy of hate lingers on in widespread but often grossly distorted accounts from this tragic chapter of American history.

Neither side deliberately set out to maltreat prisoners. Arrangements were made hurriedly to deal with unexpected masses of men. As neither side expected the war to last long, these measures were only makeshifts undertaken with minimum expenditure. Management was bad on both sides, but worse in the South owing to poorer, more decentralized organization and more meager resources. Thus, prisoners held by the Union were somewhat better off.

In the first phase of the war, 1861-1862, the relatively small numbers of prisoners taken by both sides were well treated.

There were over 160 prisons used throughout the Civil War. These institutions were established all along the East Coast as far north as Boston, as far south as Dry Tortugas Island off Key West, Florida, and as far west as Fort Riley, Kansas, and Fort Craig, New Mexico. They began as prisons or holding facilities but, with few exceptions, quickly became nothing more than American concentration camps. Prisoners were crammed into them with complete disregard to capacity limits, hygiene, nutrition, or sanitation needs. Within a short time, neither government could cope with the problems created by such a high concentration of people in such small areas or the lack of coordination within the prison system. In the end, more than 56,000 prisoners of war died in confinement, and many more were in poor or failing health when they were finally released.

Neither side was more at fault than the other. Although propoganda during and after the war convinced many people that Confederate prisons were much worse than those maintained by the Union, a close examination reveals that there were few differences. If Union soldiers were stricken with fear upon entering the gates of Andersonville Prison, Confederates were shocked upon learning that they were headed for Fort Delaware or Elmira prisons.

The death rate in all the prisons amounted to nearly to 13% of the total confined. In comparison, those who remained on the battlefield fared much better. based on available figures there, only 5% of the total enlistments of both sides were killed.

<quoted text>I care you idiot. This town has history and it is shameful. The Nazis have nothing over the inhuman ignorant southern disgrace that lies in Andersonville.Long Live William Tecumseh Sherman.

Your ignorance is shining!! It was U.S.Grant's decision to stop the prisoner exchange and his decision caused the disaster at Andersonville.The Confederate army was so overburdened with prisoners that by November,1864,they began to send them back to the North without gaining any of our prisoners in return After the conflict came to an end,the War Department published figures to show that of the 200,000 member of the Confederate Army captured,over 26,500 died in captivity. Of the 260,526 prisoners that the Confederates took, only 22,526 members of the Union Army died. This indicated that 13%of the Confederate prisoners died compared to 8 per cent of Federal prisoners. Someday as we mature and get wiser,we understand that Hollywood makes movies about issues and whitewashes over reality and adds spice,hatred,or a little glamor to SELL TICKETS and GATHER TV TIME SLOT RATINGS!Authors do the same to sell books to the gullible public.

<quoted text>Your ignorance is shining!! It was U.S.Grant's decision to stop the prisoner exchange and his decision caused the disaster at Andersonville.The Confederate army was so overburdened with prisoners that by November,1864,they began to send them back to the North without gaining any of our prisoners in return After the conflict came to an end,the War Department published figures to show that of the 200,000 member of the Confederate Army captured,over 26,500 died in captivity. Of the 260,526 prisoners that the Confederates took, only 22,526 members of the Union Army died. This indicated that 13%of the Confederate prisoners died compared to 8 per cent of Federal prisoners. Someday as we mature and get wiser,we understand that Hollywood makes movies about issues and whitewashes over reality and adds spice,hatred,or a little glamor to SELL TICKETS and GATHER TV TIME SLOT RATINGS!Authors do the same to sell books to the gullible public.

Nice,

Where did you get this drivel?

"Of the 260,526 prisoners that the Confederates took, only 22,526 members of the Union Army died."

What Historian would use the word "took" and be taken seriously? What Historian would use "only 22,526 members died"? Members? Only? You are a jackass.

"General Lee, on October 1, 1864, again proposed an exchange to General Grant. It was met by the question whether negro soldiers who had been slaves would be exchanged. General Lee, acting under instructions, wrote that negroes belonging to citizens were not considered subjects of exchange, and General Grant declined any further discussion."

There you have it. Blame it on Grant, but don't include the reason.

The north is not exempt, but the numbers of deaths in civil war prison camps is -

<quoted text>Nice,Where did you get this drivel?"Of the 260,526 prisoners that the Confederates took, only 22,526 members of the Union Army died."What Historian would use the word "took" and be taken seriously? What Historian would use "only 22,526 members died"? Members? Only? You are a jackass."General Lee, on October 1, 1864, again proposed an exchange to General Grant. It was met by the question whether negro soldiers who had been slaves would be exchanged. General Lee, acting under instructions, wrote that negroes belonging to citizens were not considered subjects of exchange, and General Grant declined any further discussion."There you have it. Blame it on Grant, but don't include the reason.The north is not exempt, but the numbers of deaths in civil war prison camps is -North - 25%South - 29%N word please

I was taught Grant owned slaves until the end of the war. He is the one denying prisoner exchange. He did not deny it because of negroes. He did it to strategically deplete Southern resources desperately needed in the field. And it worked. Don't try to play him to be some great Civil Rights leader that sacrificed his men for the negro. That's bunk.

<quoted text>Nice,Where did you get this drivel?"Of the 260,526 prisoners that the Confederates took, only 22,526 members of the Union Army died."What Historian would use the word "took" and be taken seriously? What Historian would use "only 22,526 members died"?

You must enjoy swatting gnats with a 2x4. Soldiers took captives, very simple. Members? Members of the Union army. members,soldiers,captives, whatever you want to call it to blow smoke!

This post was about prison camps where those from BOTH sides were treated worse than animals and bears a black eye on both sides of the fence. It's history and we can't do anything about it. Hollywood and the "made for television" movie people have run out of ideas so they open old wounds and stir up dust of the past that no one today can do anything about just to gain viewers and audience share on ratings from people who have not the fogiest idea of what really happened 150 years ago.

<quoted text>I care you idiot. This town has history and it is shameful. The Nazis have nothing over the inhuman ignorant southern disgrace that lies in Andersonville.Long Live William Tecumseh Sherman.

oh yeah, Sherman intentionally marched past Andersonville so he wouldn't have to feed these soldiers, so he left them to die. the south was starving and the union stopped exchanges, blame the north for this one. pow camps were far worse up north, see camp douglas

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